Ravichandran Ashwin lamented the fact that Sarfaraz Khan did not feature in the India A team to be sent to play a four-day series against South Africa A. This announcement shocked the world, because Sarfaraz has been among the most stable players in home cricket and has shone on behalf of India earlier this year. The 26 year old who made his Test debut against England has an amazing first-class record of a little more than 65.
Sarfaraz Khan had consistently scored and even hit a century against New Zealand in Bengaluru and still the selectors did not pay attention to him. Rather younger players such as Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar were selected. The move was questioned by Ashwin, who has been a dressing room mate of Sarfaraz in six Tests, and he claimed that this will demoralize any player who struggles and plays year after year in the domestic cricket.
“I can’t find any logic behind Sarfaraz’s non-selection in the India A side. I feel very, very sad for him. If I were a selector, what would I call and tell Sarfaraz? He has reduced weight, he has scored runs too, he even hit a century against New Zealand. This kind of non-selection leads me to think that someone, somewhere thinks, ‘Sarfaraz Khan ko dekh liya, abhi nahi chahiye (We’ve seen Sarfaraz Khan, don’t need him anymore).’ He has not been selected in the India A side. What happens to him now? Literally, the door has been shut on him. Where will he perform? Now if he does well in first-class cricket, they will say he is a very good player in first-class, so he won’t get an A series. Where will he go and prove his credentials?” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Players like Subramaniam Badrinath and Manoj Tiwary were cited by Ashwin and he held that communication and selection policies should be in line. He mentioned that although selectors justify their choice by asserting to find new faces, players such as Abhimanyu Easwaran who has been a member of the India A system since ages still end up gaining a slot.
“The problem is that your communication and selection should match. I remember Subramaniam Badrinath used to play for the India A team and was the captain as well for a long time, but did not get selected. The same happened to Manoj Tiwary. The communication that went through was that ‘we have seen enough of you, and now we want to take a look at fresh faces. So you won’t be playing for the India A team anymore, but if we need you in the Indian team, we will pick you.”
Ravichandran Ashwin
BCCI Explains Reasons Behind Sarfaraz Khan’s India A Omission
In the meantime BCCI came out of silence on the matter. Board sources say that Sarfaraz was dropped out of fitness and he had not been prepared to play a match recently. The source states that the right-hander has not been playing any competitive games since he came back after a quadriceps ailment. There is a rumour that even during the current Ranji season, selectors are waiting to see his performance and then they would consider including him in the India A team.
“Sarfaraz was out with a quadriceps injury. He recently made a comeback and played the first round of the Ranji Trophy-that is the only competitive cricket he has played in a long time. The selectors will assess his form in the ongoing Ranji season before drafting him back into the India A set-up,” the source told NDTV. “Hopefully, he will get his chances soon,” the official said as quoted by NDTV.
